Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin Review (VladTheDad)
This game is rather infamous as being the "black sheep" of the Fromsoft family, and because of that I only played this recently after having played all of the other Fromsoft titles. That being said, I believe that this game is worth a playthrough or two. It is bashed I think by the community too much, as it does a lot right, but at the same time is a bit deserving of its status. Let me explain:
For starters, this game is very different, and highly experimental. This is probably its greatest strength and weakness. Like powerstancing in Elden Ring? You can thank this game for bringing it to the series. Do you prefer a more open approach to progression as opposed to the linear nature of DS3 or Sekiro? This game gives you a surprising amount of freedom once you figure out the layout of the map. Enjoy build variety? There are so many different pieces of gear, armor, weapons, and spells to grind for. Whether its for a min/max PVP build or fashion souls there's something for everyone. Did you enjoy Int/Faith casting in another game? Again, thank DS2 for making it more mainstream (in the form of Hexes mainly). And as for Bonfire Ascetics, I really wish they had a similar mechanic to this in other games (Sekiro is the only one that came close with allowing you to re-fight bosses in a gauntlet).
On the downside, this experimental approach can also lead to some very awful areas or encounters, easily some of the worst in the series, up there with Bed of Chaos. Black Gulch? I know that Miyazaki loves poison swamps, but this area is cancer. Snowfield in the 3rd DLC? Good luck and try not to lose your sanity; if you enjoy it then I'll certainly question yours. And as for boss design? There are some good ones, such as the community fan favorites of Sir Alonne or Fume Knight, and every Souls game has its fair share of weaker bosses, but fuck me there are a lot of fairly subpar boss encounters in this game (Skeleton Lords, Rat Vanguard, and Covetous Demon come to mind first).
Overall, its not a bad game, is underrated and I would recommend it. I had genuine fun trying out different builds and some of the unique spells and weapons are fun to play with. However, I wouldn't fault someone for disliking it and believe that you need to lower your expectations a bit when you go into this game, or you'll just end up getting frustrated and disappointed.